I serve on the board and had my property vandalized who’s responsible, me or the Condo?

Mister Condo replies:

M.N., I am sorry you had your property vandalized. Regardless of your position on the Board, if a crime has been committed against your own personal property, it would typically be your responsibility to repair it and, hopefully, your insurance would cover the damage. If association property were damaged, then it is the association’s responsibility to repair the damage. Whatever the damage, I hope you contacted the police. Vandalism is a crime. The Board isn’t the Police Department. The Board governs and enforces the covenants of the association; the local police handle criminal matters. Good luck!

In doing work on the roof of my mom’s large condominium, they needed to move the air conditioners and my 86-year-old mother is the only resident out of maybe 50 units whose A/C was damaged. The contractors admit that they dropped materials in it and said they had fixed it earlier in the week but today, Saturday, it won’t cool. It is set at 75 and remains at 80. Who is responsible and how can I best advocate for my mom? The management company calls the contractor and the contractor claims that it isn’t his fault, it’s the unit’s. The unit is over 10 years old… BUT IT WORKED BEFORE THEY MOVED IT AND DROPPED STUFF IN IT! I appreciate your help.

Mister Condo replies:

R.G., I am sorry that your mother’s air conditioner was damaged. Most states require that a damaged product like an air conditioner be replaced at the market value at the time the damage occurred. My guess is that a 10-year-old air conditioner isn’t worth too much, regardless of how well it worked before it was damaged. Clearly, the blame lies with the roofing contractors who moved and damaged the unit. However, the real question here is liability and cost of replacement. You can continue to complain to anyone who will listen but unless you can prove the value of the air conditioner to be significant. I am afraid your best bet will be to simply purchase a new air conditioner. I am sorry I don’t have better news for you. Good luck!

My hot water heater leaked into the condo below me. I had the heater replaced. Am I responsible for the damage caused to the ceiling of the downstairs condo unit?

Mister Condo replies:

M.A., I am sorry for you and your downstairs neighbor’s damage and problems. Whether or not you are responsible depends on a few things. If your association provides and enforce maintenance standards for common wear items like water heaters and you didn’t violate those standards, then the association may have insurance to help cover the cost of your neighbor’s damage. Your neighbor should have his or her own homeowner’s insurance policy which should cover some of the damage, less a deductible, that could be passed on to you or the association. Your own homeowner’s insurance may offer you some coverage against these costs as well. If you didn’t follow any published maintenance standard for replacing your water heater (typically every seven years or so) then you may be on the hook for the damage. I am not sure what you have been asked to pay but make sure all of the players involved have checked with their own insurers before you start parting with any cash. If it turns out you are being asked to pay money that you do not agree with, you may wish to speak to an attorney who can tell you what your legal responsibilities are. Good luck!

Our condo roof is over 20 years old (I believe 23 years). Was already patched once when we first started getting water two weeks ago. With more rain it has begun to leak into the ceiling and wall in our kitchen/dining area (shared with a neighbor who currently isn’t having any water issues). The ceiling drywall was so saturated it began pouring into our unit through the seams of the drywall. We tore out the drywall. Damage appears to be very extensive. Our association doesn’t want to file a claim with their insurance. They called roofers (for the second time) to come patch the flat roof over the area. We called contractors for water damage out for an estimate. Who is going to pay for all of the damage? As of now it looks as though the wall behind our cabinets is damaged, cabinets are wet, and the subroof is also saturated and water is still pouring in. Since this wasn’t caused by a storm or anything we did as the unit owner, does that make the building/association liable?

Mister Condo replies:

G.G., I am sorry for your troubles. Water intrusion is a nasty, messy situation that requires professional help to remedy. Typically, your insurance would pay for the damage done to the interior of your unit. In fact, your insurer may be the ones who go after the Board to help pay for the damage, especially if it was caused by negligence to maintain. The Board is not under any obligation to submit an insurance claim. However, that does not free them from the responsibility of repairing the roof (which they did) and the possible claim against them for the damage caused to your unit. My best advice to you is to work with your insurer to collect as much money as possible to cover your loss. You might also want to involve an attorney to see what other legal rights or claims you may have against the association. My guess is that this might take some time to remedy but you will get your damage repaired without too much more than your deductible as an out of pocket expense. Good luck!

R.P., there are a myriad of reasons that condo associations should implement Maintenance Standards. First and foremost is to limit the association’s liabilities. Things that routinely wear down and break like water supply lines can cause a great deal of damage which is easily minimized or prevented with Maintenance Standards. Secondarily, many insurers require these standards to be in place or the insurer will not cover the resultant damage. That could lead to huge out of pocket expenses for both associations and unit owners. Finally, many Maintenance Standards provide greater safety and peace of mind for all unit owners and residents. Who doesn’t want that?

A few months ago, a neighbor (a tenant – owner rents it out) attempted to make a change to the plumbing in his kitchen. It was done incorrectly, causing water to flow incessantly for several days into my garage which is below their kitchen. Water flowed all across the length of my ceiling (into the area where the air conditioning ducts are housed), and down the sides of the walls causing the sheet rock and insulation to be very soaked with water. I hired a painting and home improvement company who has done work for me and several others in this complex to get rid of all the water-soaked materials, and then to replace the materials once the area had time to dry out. It took them a several hours for several days to complete the work. It was done nicely, and I am satisfied with the work.

The problem is that the owner of the unit believes my contractor’s final price was too high – $750. I believe it was a fair and reasonable price. He is someone I trust, and he does good work. The owner paid half of that bill. I believe he should be the rest. He (by allowing his tenant to perform unlicensed plumbing work) endangered not only my unit, but those nearby. If I had not been home and noticed the leaking in my garage (the tenants were away for the week), the damage may have been disastrous.

Do you have any ideas on how to get this unit owner to pay the rest of the bill? I am considering Small Claims Court if he doesn’t pay within the next few weeks.

Mister Condo replies:

L.W., I am sorry for your problems. Typically, when a unit owner damages another owner’s unit, their insurance or even the association’s insurance is used to handle the repair of the damaged area. Since you took it upon yourself to handle the damage repair, you may be on the hook to collect from the other unit owner (or their insurance). Personally, I like your “take charge” common sense approach to getting the repair handled in timely fashion. However, now you may need to take your neighbor to Small Claims court to get your money back. Honestly, it sounds to me like you got an exceptional price for the work but your “shoot first, ask questions later” approach is receiving pushback from your neighbor. You might want to run the information past an attorney to see if you have a legal leg to stand on. Also, since the neighbor has already drawn a line in the sand at $375, you may need to ask yourself how much aggravation you are willing to suffer to recover the extra $375. You might just want to write this one off and pay attention to what happens the next time and hope that there isn’t a next time. All the best!

I was visiting a friend in the Condo and a tree (huge part of it) fell on my car, cause many damages. Can I have the right to sue the Condo for pay the deductible of my insurance? The general manager didn’t go there to see the damage and, on the phone, he just said that the homeowner’s association does not have insurance so he’s not going to pay for it. The deductible is $500 and my car is 2016.

Mister Condo replies:

C.B., I am sorry that your car got damaged. The right to sue another individual or business is yours if you choose to pursue it. However, the cost of suing this condo association for the $500 deductible on your insurance policy will most likely outweigh the potential of collecting the $500 from the association. This is part of the risk of having deductibles on our insurance. Clearly, this was not your fault but your insurance policy is only going to pay for the amount of damage that exceeds your deductible. The rest is on you. You can speak with an attorney if you would want to see if there is any other avenue open to you but my advice would be to simply pay your deductible. Otherwise, you are likely throwing good money after bad. All the best!

Our plumber installed a dishwasher improperly and water leaked under the floor, destroying the laminate and ceiling tiles in lower room. Asbestos was found in vinyl under laminate and must be removed. The plumber is taking responsibility. Our insurer insists that this damage, restricted to inside our walls, and not caused by condo-owned components (such as a roof leak would be) is the condo association responsibility by law and we can’t go to plumber’s insurance (nor to our own). Our condo association denies this and has refused to file a claim. The only law I can find does not seem to say this, but only seems to make a condo association responsible for horizontal surfaces between stacked units. This is a 2010 law. Can condo insurance be held responsible for my dishwasher leak?

Mister Condo replies:

M.C., I am sorry you find yourself in this situation. When insurers deny claims it is the homeowner who gets hurt. Asbestos abatement only adds to the problem. I can see where the association is denying your request as the damage is restricted to the interior of your unit. Until the plumber damaged the flooring, there was no liability. I am not quite sure why the plumber’s insurance would deny a claim of damage caused by his workmanship (isn’t that what his insurance is for?) but it still puts the cost of making the repair on you. Depending on how much the repair will cost, I would advise you one of two ways. If it is expensive (say more than $500), it may be worth speaking with an attorney to see if you can sue the plumber or the association. If the dollar amount is less than that (or if you were thinking of replacing the laminate floor) I would advise you to simply pay for the repair/upgrade and be done with it. I think it stinks that the insurance isn’t paying for this damage but unless the dollar amount is significant, I don’t think it is worth the time to try to sue for damages. All the best!

Gutters were installed by previous owner and we’re damaged by a common area tree from a storm. Who is responsible for replacement and costs?

Mister Condo replies:

J.D., since the gutters were installed by a previous owner it is likely the current owner (you) who is responsible. However, it is certainly worth a call or letter to the Board to report the damage and inquire of the HOA’s insurance will cover the damage, especially if it is particularly expensive. If there is a deductible or the repair doesn’t meet the insurance threshold, you will likely be told it is your expense. Finally, check your by-laws. If there is wording that indicates such damage is association responsibility, you may wish to highlight the language and send it along to the Board along with your request for the repair to be paid for by them. If they refuse and you strongly feel you are right, you might wish to speak to an attorney to get a clarification on the rules. If the Board has refused to pay and the dollar amount is not significant enough to seek further remedy, I would suggest you simply make the reapir yourself and continue to enjoy your gutters. Good luck!

Hi Mr. Condo! I hope you can help me. I’m an owner of a condo in an apartment style building. Last week, I discovered a leak from above into my AC closet which shares a wall with my linen closet. My AC is non-operable (since 2012) so I know it isn’t mine. I checked my linen closet and found the back wall covered in mold. I contacted the property management company right away. They said they would contact the above tenant/owner to stop the leak so I can begin repairs. I’ve since sent several emails and called twice. For the past 5 days I have not received any response. I even went so far as to call the tenant myself. No response there either. What are my options?

Mister Condo replies:

B.L., I am sorry for your problems. Leaks caused by neighbors are bad enough but mold problems are quite serious. You did the right thing by contacting the Property Manager. You should also document the mold intrusion with lots of photos in case they are needed down the road. The association is responsible for getting involved and making the repairs. Unfortunately, it sounds like the manager is off to a slow and ineffective start. You need to be persistent and write to the Board along with your documentation showing what is going on and demanding they make the repairs. The other unit owner’s lack of cooperation may be a problem for you but the Board can take legal action against them to make them comply. You should not need to contact them at all, email, in person, or otherwise. If they are responsive to you, you can certainly speak with them to ask them to be more helpful but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Board needs some time to get this situation remedied and you may wish to be patient for a few months while they get this straightened out. However, you may also wish to speak to an attorney if things are moving too slow for you. Mold can be deadly and you need to have it removed quickly. You may even need to vacate your unit if it is found to be toxic. In that case, you would turn to your own homeowner’s insurance to see if you have coverage that would pay for your temporary relocation while the mold is abated. Ultimately, you want the neighbor’s A/C unit repaired so it stops leaking. You want your unit dry and you want the mold removed. Once all that is done, you’ll be back in business. Be persistent and apply the right amount of pressure to make sure you aren’t forgotten. Your problem is there problem and it needs to be taken seriously by all involved. Good luck!

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Friendly Answers to your Condo Questions

Mister Condo is here to give friendly advice and promote awareness of how to make the most of your condominium living experience. “Ask Mister Condo” is the friendly place to ask questions about all things condo. Mister Condo knows a lot of the answers but when he doesn’t, he isn’t afraid to ask a local expert for help in answering your questions. Mister Condo is not an attorney and offers no legal advice in this column. He is a very well-mannered condominium dweller with many years of practical experience living in several of Connecticut’s fine condominium communities. He asks that you be well-mannered as well so we can all enjoy the advice presented in this column. Please note that questions are answered on a "first come, first served" basis and that there may be a delay before your question and answer appear. Thank you for your patience.